Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-01-29


no doubt . good thing for = paper to hsv'
many editorial writers but their writing
| must DO " edited" by some ono unity Ing, ol
at least reconcilIng authority In the editorial
office. Otherwise, we get tho effect of q III
erary crazy.quilt ridiculous hodge, podge
destroying all the value aud influence OF the
paper
MORE than once lately tho ISrELLroEN
CIR called attention TO the funny sslf.con
tradIctions Of some of Its esteemed contsm
| Iorarlea In New York and Philadelp phia
They usually happened In the discussion OF
political matters But none OF them were
half ~ absurd n some OF those recently
found in the New York Indspe,,dent, which
calls Itself " the foremost religious newspaper
In the world.' Already In the last prssiden.
tisl campaign II proved itself 10 he ths fore.
most turn coat In the world. For within one
| week II shifted Its position from that OF eulo-
gist OF Mr.. Cleveland to that of his most bitter
| opponent and viliier. Within q few months
| II changed from rabid Republican to sancti.
monious mugwump, from sanctiinonious
mugwump to self.righteous Prohibitionist,
and then back again TO ultra-rabid kepubli
can, which position It now holds.
SCARCELY less varied has been this same
" foremost religious newspaper's' career In
the sphere OF theology. After reading some
OF It's editorials within year or 30 most peo-
pie set It down a. q strong believer In and
champion of the 10 called New Theology, or
Progressive Orthodoxy. Al the recent meet
ing of the American Board OF Foreign Mis-.
sions, however, its chief editor made a long
speech which made nothing clear except that
he was trying hard to get "On the fence."
And. 10, nov this " foremost journal prints
. petulant and ridiculous leader, declaring
that awe think this disturbance on the part
OF the Andover teachers has gone far enough,
and we would respectfully suggest that the
guns OF that institution be henceiorth directed
TO the arch enemy OF all truth, and far away
from the friends OF the plainly revealed
teachings OF the Bible "a Enthusiastically
unfair insinuation against the pure, Christian
men who edit the AndOUer Reuieto, which
any one need but read to see that all the aim
and efforts Of Progressive Orthodoxy are d.
rected, not against the =" friends o. the plainly
revealed teachings Of the Bible" but only
and most effectively against "ths arch
enemy OF all truth" The article by implica
tion charges the Andover professors with the
attempt To "force their new views and
mere speculations" upon the A. Il. 4. h. NJ,
and In as intolerant in its tone, nay, a. fierce
In its dennnciations, ~ though this were no
free country where liberty Of thought aud
speech are the right of every one. The
remarkable screed closes with this sen tence:
'The sooner the Andover teachers cease
urging their private views and 'mere
speculAtions,' the better it will be for the
cause OF missions, the Cause Of pesce the
cause OF Christian fellowship, and every
other good cause relating tn the present or
future welfare OF the people,"
ZEAL evidently has made The Hidepend-
ent bind, not only to reason. In this matter,
but TO plain and patent facts. For example,
how In 1t possible for any sober person TO de-
clare, an does this same wonderful article,
I" We. affirm that there Is not a single
Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, or other Eodn-
geticai church In America which believes in
these Andover views aud 'mere specula-
tions.' II there are snch churches we have
never heard OF them" Has "the foremost
religious newspaper In the world" never
heard OF the German Reformed and the
Lutheran churches. The largest element in
both of these holds. and has held for years.
that fundamental Christocentric idea which
In New England Is considered "new theol.
ogy," but among them Is old As the churches
themselves, and Of which the subordinate
doctrine, OF q future probation for the
heathen who never heard OF Christ in the
present world, is a natural and necessary in
ference. As l understand II, the kernel OF
the New Theology Is this No salvation but
by faith In Christ no damnation but for re-
jecting Christ Joseph Cook says, and 80 do
those whose oracle he is, that this doctrine
"cuts the nerve OF missions" History says
that the Moraviau church, acknowledged to
sion field, has held this very doctrine tor
over q century and a half 1t seems rather
10 have strengthened than cut the nerve Of
It's missions.
But that's enough for theology. In literary
criticism The Independent has been showing
its lack of character, its man y. .hsadsdn ness,
almost As foolishly as in It's theology. For
example, It went to the trouble and expense
of having Tennyson's latest poem, 4" Locksley
Hall Sixty Years After" csbled from Eng.
land 30 AZ to be " foremost" in publishing 1t
hsre. 1t did this with much blowing of its
own horn, and In q double.eaded leader
came near exhausting the dictionary
In ips efforts to apply every laudatory adJec-
tive possible to the pslinode. 1t declared 1t
to be 90 poem more vigorous and finer than
could be written by any other man in Eng.
land or America and called 1t "a noble
sermon as we'll as poem," and so forth and
40 on. Imagine my surprise then, when
two or three weeks alter, read an 'editorisl
note" evidently by another one of the
editors, In which the "noble sermon" is
made all manner OF fun OF. Among the rest
1t says: "There Is another one of Tenny
sons love-sck swans, the one who wanted
Maud to 'come into the garden about whose
anxiety Is expressed. We know, of course,
that he went of into the Crimean war, with
the hope OF being killed, preferring that
method Of suicide to his fathers, who was
the ground Now was he killed, or did he
surviveH And did he marry And did ae
live to be Jingo or Radical? Wal he
turn up and sing us a song OF hope or
despair? We are glad that one of these lii.
erary Enoch Ardens, who we thought were
dead, should come to life but II there should
be- any more Of them, We hope they will only
look In the window, and go back to the
shades without making any sign" The
week following the poem was again called
avarvthinu that great and good